Gatsby Dresses In the Shops

Since The Great Gatsby was released, I know that some people are desperate for a flapper fashion fix!  Look no further, here's a round up of Gatsby inspired dresses available on the British high street.

They key things to look for are drop waists and embellishments (frills, fringeing or beading), in either sleeveless or short sleeve styles. The drop waist doesn't always suit any but the most willowy of figures, so I'm including some alternatives, which generally have a nipped in waist and a hem that flares out instead.  Most of the dresses featured below are evening styles, but there are a couple of fun day options by Jaeger, Yumi and Reiss too.

First of all are the classic drop waist styles.

'Emma' dress by Jaeger, £80

(Also available in navy stripe)

Yumi drop waist dress, £50

French Connection crochet dress, £130



Flapper dress by Jigsaw at John Lewis, £325



Yumi sequin detail dress, £65

'Julie' dress by 18andEast at Joythestore, £90

(also available in pink)

Miss Selfridge flapper dress, £129



And now the styles with a more defined waist, for if your figure is more curvaceous but you still crave the flapper look.

'Charlie' dress by Ghost at John Lewis, £145

Yumi sun dress, £60

'Diva' dress by Reiss, £149

Chesca dress at John Lewis, £250

The key to making all of these modern dresses look Gatsby-worthy is in the accessories.  Modern stylists will tell you to wear retro-style dresses with modern accessories, so that it doesn't look 'overdone' or like 'fancy dress'.  Ignore them.  To make these dresses work, go the whole hog with the accessories - feathers, metallics, sequins on headbands, clutch bags and t-bar shoes.  If it feels uncomfortable to be this daring, just remember "it's better to be looked over, than to be overlooked".

Enjoy being a flapper for the night!  For further inspiration, see this post where I used a modern dress to attain flapper style for my birthday celebration.